Dyslalia is a fairly general term used to describe various types of speech disorders - they may consist in not uttering just one sound, as well as several sounds, or incorrect pronunciation of certain words. The causes of dyslalia can be both abnormalities in the structure of the speech apparatus, as well as hearing disorders or incorrect speech patterns in the environment in which the child is brought up. For parents, however, the most important aspect is usually a completely different aspect: what are the treatments for dyslalia?
Contents:
- Dyslalia - types
- Dyslalia - causes
- Dyslalia - symptoms
- Dyslalia - diagnosis
- Dyslalia - treatment
The termdyslaliacomes from Greek, more specifically from the combination of two Greek words: dys, meaning disorder, and lalia, meaning speech. In the simplest, consistent with reality, this term is used to describe speech disorders related to the incorrect articulation of sounds.
The problem is most often diagnosed in children, however, when adequate interventions are not taken in childhood, dyslalia may be visible in humans even long after crossing the threshold of adulthood.
Dyslalia - types
Generally speaking, in the course of dyslalia, as has already been mentioned above, speech disorders occur - but due to the fact that the problem may vary in severity, several types are mentioned. The most common among the different types of dyslalia are:
- vocal dyslalia (where the patient does not pronounce individual sounds correctly)
- syllabic dyslalia (the essence of the problem here is omitting or adding syllables in different words)
- word dyslalia (in which the patient incorrectly pronounces certain specific words)
- sentence dyslalia (where a patient who knows different words is unable to correctly form a sentence from them)
The above division is quite general - more precise types of dyslalia are distinguished, where the classification is based on which specific sounds the patient has some difficulties with. In this case, you can mention such problems as:
- sigmatism (popularly known as lisp)
- betacyzm
- kappacyzm
- gammacyzm
- lambdacyzm
- rotacyzm
- voiceless speech
Dyslalia - causes
The background of dyslalia can be really different.
The cause of the problem can be variousdefects in the speech apparatus- in this case dyslalia is referred to asmechanical dyslaliaand may lead to incorrect the structure of the tongue or soft palate, but also the hypertrophy of the pharyngeal tonsil, the curvature of the nasal septum or the hypertrophy of the mucous membranes within the nose.
Dyslalia can becaused by the environment- it can be found when the child grew up among adults who had speech disorders themselves or when language contact during the period of speech education with him was limited.
The cause of dyslalia arehearing disorders , such as hearing analysis disorders or deterioration in the reception of auditory stimuli - then it isaudiogenic dyslalia.
Also mentionedassociative dyslaliawhere the source of the problem ispsychogenic .
Developmental dyslaliais a disorder that develops in connection witha delay in psychomotor or emotional developmentof a child.
Dyslalia - symptoms
A person with dyslalia experiences problems depending on which type they develop.
For example, patients suffering from dictatism have problems with expressing, among others, such sounds as "sz", "dż" or "ż", and people struggling with rotacism incorrectly pronounce the letter "r".
Lambdacism is associated with incorrect pronunciation of the sound "l", and betacism is associated with difficulties in pronouncing the sound "b".
In the case of vocal dyslalia, the patient may omit one voice in his statements or replace it with others, while in syllable dyslalia, the patient may omit or add individual syllables (e.g. say the word "steam locomotive" as "transom").
Dyslalia - diagnosis
Usually the diagnosis of dyslalia is made by speech therapists, but the mere statement that a child is struggling with this speech disorder does not end the entire diagnostic process.
When a child is observed to pronounce one or more sounds incorrectly, the child may be referred to various specialists depending on the suspected cause of dyslalia.
In a situation where the problem may be due to anatomical defects - e.g. incorrect structure of the tongue or malocclusion - the child may be referred to an otolaryngologist or orthodontist.
In turn where the problem may havepsychosomatic background, a small patient should be looked after by a psychologist or child psychiatrist.
Dyslalia - treatment
Working with a speech therapist plays a fundamental role in the treatment of dyslalia. Various interactions are used, because both training supporting the activity of the speech apparatus itself and auditory exercises supporting the ability to distinguish correct sounds from incorrect ones.
Before the effects of working with a speech therapist become noticeable, a long time usually passes, but it is definitely worth being patient, because untreated dyslalia can persist even throughout adult life.
Sometimes surgical treatment is used to treat dyslalia - such treatment may be used when the problem arises in connection with some anatomical defects, such as adenoid hypertrophy or curvature of the nasal septum.
In people who have a malocclusion, pronunciation can improve with orthodontic treatment and subsequent bite correction.
About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of medicine at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.Read also other articles by this author